SDSU and NAGPRA

The California State University (CSU) system is committed to the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items in accordance with the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and California NAGPRA (CalNAGPRA).

To help accomplish repatriation, the CSU Systemwide NAGPRA policy requires campuses to annually survey all departments/units about whether the unit or its individual faculty or staff hold Native American human remains or cultural items. After the initial survey, the campus NAGPRA Coordinator (in collaboration with tribal representatives, subject matter experts, and campus officials as needed) will review responses to determine if additional review is necessary. The NAGPRA Coordinator may perform additional review of items in departments historically engaged with Native American human remains or cultural items.

The purpose of campus searches is the thorough reporting of holdings to avoid overlooked human remains or cultural items, which cause further harm to Native communities.

Additional information on SDSU’s NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA efforts can be found on SDSU’s NAGPRA website.

The CSU Office of Tribal Relations asks that campuses conduct campuswide surveying on an annual basis. While nothing may have changed within your department or unit, other parts of the campus community may have had turnover in personnel or new faculty and staff hires, room or building moves, discarding of furniture (like file cabinets), deep cleaning efforts, renovations, or changes to their use of space. A recurring survey captures information from these changes.

It is imperative that these physical searches and surveys are a campuswide effort. There is a documented history at many institutions of Native American human remains and cultural items having been found in very unexpected locations.

Deans/Associate Deans

Deans and Associate Deans must ensure all department and unit heads within their college are aware of the survey and what is expected to be reported by the deadline.

Chairs/Directors

Chairs and Directors must ensure faculty and staff under their purview report the existence of items potentially subject to NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA. Chairs and Directors should make inquiries of all faculty and staff to determine if they are aware of any Native American human remains or cultural items that may be under the control of the university, including
objects either on university premises, located off-site, or taken from university premises to other locations, including the homes of university faculty, students, and staff. If your department has historically housed Native American human remains or cultural items, it is best practice to contact former faculty for information on any items that may have been removed from campus.

It is important to keep in mind that Native American human remains or cultural items may be located anywhere, including for example libraries, current and former research laboratories, storage rooms, or off-campus facilities.

Faculty/Staff

Faculty and staff must respond to the survey by reporting the presence (or non-presence) of Native American human remains and cultural items by the deadline. This includes but is not limited to conducting physical searches of assigned spaces such as campus offices and laboratories, providing any requested documentation, and identifying any other
locations where Native American human remains or cultural items that are the property of or on loan to SDSU may be held and if such items were removed from university premises.

Faculty and staff should also identify the origin and acquisition history of human remains and cultural items that are thought to be non-Native American; these remains and cultural items should also be reported in the survey to document that they are known to be non-Native American.

If spaces are searched and no human remains or cultural items are present, faculty and staff must still complete the survey to document that the spaces were searched.

NAGPRA Coordinator

The NAGPRA Coordinator will receive and review the survey results to identify departments and units that may need follow-up to the physical searches. With the assistance of department and unit heads, and engaging as necessary the assistance of appropriate subject matter experts (namely Tribal representatives), the NAGPRA Coordinator will
assess reported items potentially subject to NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA. The NAGPRA Coordinator will monitor survey compliance and maintain copies of all responses.

Physical inspections of department/unit/division spaces include faculty and staff offices, workspaces, classrooms, labs, common areas, lobbies, and storage rooms including ancillary structures (on- and off-campus) controlled, managed, and/or maintained by SDSU. All closets, cabinets, drawers, boxes, and storage containers within those spaces should be opened and physically examined for Native American human remains and cultural items.

If the department has exhibition or display cases containing Native American cultural items, these items must be reported in the survey and additional requirements regarding consent for exhibition must be followed. If your department includes displays of this type, please contact the NAGPRA Coordinator for more information.

Native American human remains and cultural items are not limited to items recovered from archaeological excavations. They may be from purchases with SDSU funds or gifts to the campus, departments, units, staff, and faculty at any point in time.

Some examples of Native American cultural objects are pottery, textiles (i.e. clothing), basketry, stone tools, stone ornaments, bone tools, bone ornaments, shell tools, shell ornaments, glassware, or metal objects. Any items that are known to originate from archaeological sites must be reported.

It is important to note that objects subject to NAGPRA may also include items such as animal remains, floral samples, or soil. The context of the item’s removal and acquisition (location and under what circumstances) aids in determining whether the item falls under NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA.

Identification of human remains and Native American cultural items may not be obvious. Please err on the side of caution and do not try to personally assess whether an object may be subject to NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA. Report the remains and items in question and the NAGPRA Coordinator will follow up with the next appropriate steps.

Following cultural protocols and NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA requirements, please do not move and minimize the handling of Native American human remains and cultural items. If the human remains and cultural items are found to be improperly secured or stored and/or are exposed to harmful environments, immediately relocate them to a safe and secure location and contact the NAGPRA Coordinator as soon as possible.

Report any possible findings in the campus survey and the location the remains and cultural items were found. Also include where the remains and cultural items were relocated to if relocation was necessary.

If spaces are searched and nothing is found, report in the survey that nothing was found. Be sure to identify which spaces did not contain any remains or cultural items.

If you would like to anonymously report the location or possible location of any potential Native American human remains or cultural items, you may submit your concerns anonymously via the online form on SDSU’s NAGPRA website.

There is also the option to submit the survey anonymously.

NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA applies to Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native
human remains and cultural items. All known Native American human remains and cultural items are to be reported.

If you are unsure about the origin of any remains or cultural items, please report them in the survey and the NAGPRA Coordinator will work with you to facilitate additional review regarding the possible applicability of NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA.

While not under NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA, please also report human remains or cultural items with an established origin outside of the United States.

It is recommended that you report any personal possessions of Native American origin that you have on campus, in order to document their status as personal property and their exemption from NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA.

Yes, report the presence (or non-presence) of Native American human remains and cultural items in the searched spaces even if you reported findings in a previous survey. SDSU maintains a continuous record of all searched spaces and findings.

If you have questions, please contact SDSU’s NAGPRA Coordinator Jaime Lennox at [email protected] or (619) 594-4575.